


New Beginnings

by Officialacejolras (orphan_account)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-17
Packaged: 2017-11-29 15:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Officialacejolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of growing up, first love, pie, and a certain Mary Winchester matchmaking because her sons are just too stubborn for their own good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Dean was little, him, his brother, and his parents lived in a little white house in Lawrence, Kansas. It was a cozy home, and one filled with lots of memories. Next door lived an old married couple- well, not so much old, but they sure acted like it at times; two men named Michael and Luke. At night, there were times when Mary and John could hear Michael yelling out Luke's name in a very threatening tone before he went off (quite loudly, at that) about replacing the shampoo with pink hair dye, hiding the spoons all over the house, etc. Sometimes it was amusing-hilarious, even- and then other times the two just groaned in irritance, wishing Luke would just stop so that Michael would stop yelling and they could go back to sleep. Around the time that Dean turned 4 (Sam was about 2, then), the bickering married couple next door adopted a son. His name was Castiel Novak. He was Dean's age, but unlike Dean, he was of a stoic, introverted nature. His adoptee parents dressed him in colorful cashmere sweaters and button-down shirts, sometimes letting him wear small ties to make him look "grown up" (Castiel really liked the ties, although he often ended up loosening them up quite extensively). And as young parents love to do, Castiel and Dean were instantly made play-dates to become "friends".

The first time they met, Castiel had stood shyly behind Luke, not really sure what to make of the other boy, while Dean with his freckles adorning his cheeks smiled at him; waving ecstatically. Luke nudged the boy, grinning down at him like the proud parent he was, and the child came out from behind his dad's leg; waving back timidly at Dean. Dean only smiled wider in response.

"Hello! What's your name?" Dean asked, curious about his new neighbor. He wore a simple navy-colored puffy winter coat with jeans, his cheeks slightly flushed from playing outside in the cold.

Castiel tugged at the sleeves of his crimson colored cashmere sweater, a small smile on his face. "My name's Castiel."

"Castiel, Castiel, Castiel... Hmmm... Can I call you Cas?" Dean asked, for after all, all his frends had to have nicknames! "Oh yeah, my name's Dean, by the way!" He added after a moment, almost forgetting to introduce himself.

"Cas...?" The other boy tilted his head slightly, thinking about it. "...Okay! And hello, Dean," he said, his smile growing by the minute.

Dean grinned; he liked his new friend already! Grasping the shorter boy's hand, he dragged him over to his room; giving him a short 'tour' and showing off his toys as young children do.

"Look. Cas! I've got a Batman action figure and also a Robin one! You can be Robin, OK?"

\-----

  
Meanwhile, the four adults sat in the Winchester's living room, talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. It had been hours and they hadn't heard anything from Dean's room in quite a while... Mary stood up from the chair she was sitting in, and as the concerned mother she was, she decided to check on the two. What she found brought the biggest smile on to her face. Dean and Castiel were curled up again Dean's bean bag in the corner; toys scattered across the floor in front of them. Mary frowned at the mess, before a thought occurred to her. She left the room, before bringing a warm blanket and lightly throwing it over the two boys. Getting out her camera and snapping a quick picture for memories, she headed back out into the living room.

"So, coffee, anyone?" She asked the three adults, smiling cheerfully.


	2. Chapter 2

It was both Dean and Castiel's eighth grade year; their last year in middle school. There was a period in elementary school where they had been separated for a bit more than a year; Dean's family moving because John Winchester had found a new job, but they eventually found themselves back in Lawrence, in the same old white house that was practically connected to the Novak's. When they moved back(it was around the time Dean hit fifth grade), however, they were due for a big surprise. Michael and Luci had adopted another son; a candy-addict with an interesting sense of humor named Gabriel. He was a year younger than Castiel and Dean, and a year older than Sam. Dean didn't really trust Gabriel too much- he hung out with Sammy and he feared Gabriel was going to corrupt his younger brother(when that was mentioned to said person, he responded by laughing and suggestively winking at Sam just to piss Dean off).

Even after all these years, Dean and Castiel continued to be friends- best friends, at that. Regardless that the fact was, Dean was one of the most popular and rather rude kids at times in school, and that Castiel was one of few friends and more nerdy than cool. Thanks to his status, though, the Winchester beat up anyone who even dared to make fun of his best friend. He did the same for his younger brother, who was constantly among the seventh and eighth graders because of his intelligence.

In his eighth grade year, Castiel still stuck with cashmere sweaters most of the time; but recently he had been gifted a tan trenchcoat that was a bit big on him and had practically fallen in love with it. He had a bit of a baby face still, and had navy blue colored braces on his teeth. Regardless of how nerdy he was, however, his looks got him several admirers, Meg Masters being one of them. She was Castiel's friend since middle school had started, although her admiration was unknown by all but her best friend Ruby. Ruby personally didn't see what the big deal was about Castiel; and if she were to be frank and talking to a stranger she would never see again (so she didn't have to worry about them gossiping about it), she would admit that she might have been jealous of her friend's admiration for Castiel. Besides Meg Masters, though, Castiel's friends consisted of his brother, Dean, Sam, and Jo. Jo was more Dean's friend than his own, but she talked to him quite a few times and they got along rather well.

Dean had long ditched the puffy winter coats he wore so much as a child in place of leather jackets; paired with blue jeans with tears at the knees. He always wore a necklace around his neck; a gift that Sam had given him years ago for Christmas. He and Castiel were practically living in each other's houses at this point, but at night when the two were both at home in their rooms and supposed to be sleeping; the two would open their bedroom windows. The two houses were closely aligned, and Dean and Castiel's bedrooms were the ones on the side of the house with the big windows. They had a routine of around 9:30 or so of leaning their arms onto the window sill, talking and discussing whatever came to mind until they were both too tired to even open their eyes fully. They were literally attached to the hip 24/7, and if they weren't sitting right next to eachother, they would stare at the other(resulting in much teasing from both of their brothers). Dean would cover up his freckles with makeup, finding them embarrassing; but Cas still looked for them on his cheeks. Castiel was the only person who he would let see him without the makeup covering them nowadays.

At school, Dean was always surrounded by people. He didn't mind, he quite liked all the attention from girls(and on occasion, boys) would give him. However, there were not that many people that surrounded him that he would consider his friends. Mainly, he stuck to Sam, Castiel, Jo, Ruby, Kevin, somewhat Meg, and on very rare occasions, Gabriel, too. He would get in fights with his teachers a lot, although when it came to Mr. Singer, it was more just how their relationship was(there were times when he would practically be a second father to Dean). With Ms. Rosen, however, he just got a weird feeling with her and took it out on her with sarcastic remarks that she got frustrated with over time. Although what he didn't know was that she was the one purposely seating him and Castiel together in her class, muttering under her breath about how they were her 'OTP' and other various unfamiliar terms to the boy.

Their school was small; the student population less than 300. Their principal was called Mr. Crowley, and a good number of these students thought that him and Mr. Singer were just a biiiit more than close friends. If you asked Ms. Becky about it, she would have said she had pictures of the two kissing; but no one wanted to even mention something like that to her. There was just a feeling that went around with her that basically gave you chills; like she was prying deep into your personal life. Then there was Ellen, Jo's mother, who was employed as the school nurse. She was good friends with Mary and John Winchester, and Sam and Dean both held a lot of respect for her. Their school counselor, Ms. Lillith, had got to be the scariest counselor ever. No one liked to go to the counselor's office at all, and since the principal was even scarier in some aspects than Ms. Lilith, most middle school students avoided getting in big trouble period. No one was quite sure what to make of the librarian, Chuck- he was okay at some times, and then other times, he was plain out creepy.

Dean leaped from his seat as the bell rang for lunch, grabbing his binder and running out of Mr. Singer's classroom. Mr. Singer's lips twitched upwards for a moment, a fond sounding 'Idjit.' muttered as he started to gather his materials and grab his lunch before heading over to the teacher's lounge. Dean headed over to his locker, spinning in the combination of 4, 44, and then 30. He felt someone behind him, and without even looking to see who it was he knew that it was Castiel.

Instantly his mood brightening(he ignored the voices in his head that whispered idiotic things that were on the verge of, dare he say, romantic. Cas was just his best friend, of course he would be happy to see him!), he asked, while rummaging through the locker, "You need anything, Cas?" As he found his lunch, he added, "Oh yeah, mom made you lunch today." He turned around to face the dark haired boy, tossing the paper bag to him.

"Thank you, Dean. And no, I just needed to put away my binder," the stoic boy replied, catching the bag with ease. He stepped forward in front of the taller male, placing his binder neatly in the disorderly locker the two shared, before closing it.

The two walked to the cafeteria, talking and complaining and discussing the little events that were buzzing around the school at the moment, before sitting down at a circular shaped table towards the edge of the cafeteria, where a grinning Gabriel and a slightly embarrassed Sam were sitting. From the looks of it, Gabriel had probably used some sort of cheesy pick up line on the taller boy, as he loved to do to his beloved 'Sasquatch'. Dean was almost 100% sure Castiel's brother was gay at this point, but he couldn't tease him just yet over trivial matters.

"Hey, Gabe. Happy Birthday. Think fast,"Dean said, chucking a packet of M & M's at Gabriel's head.

Gabriel instantly caught the chocolate candies, grinning wide. "Wow, Dean-o, didn't realize you cared so much! Thanks!"

"Yeah, don't get any ideas about me caring now; or I'll have to buy you a hallmark card to go along with those M & M's," Dean replied in his trademark sarcastic tone, smirking.

Gabriel only grinned wider, before looking over at Sam, and then his brother. "What, didn't you guys get me anything? Please tell me that Dean-o here isn't the most generous one of you all or else the world is screwed."

Cas shook his head, suppressing a smile as he watched Dean give Gabriel a sour look. "It's at home, Gabriel. I told you already."

Gabriel pouted for a moment, before facing Sam, "Okay then, moose, what's your excuse?"

"My name is Sam, not moose, and you know it, Gabe. And it's a surprise- one you'll never get if you keep bugging me about it,"Sam replied, crossing his arms.

Gabriel groaned because of the fact that he had to wait for his present from Sam- although he /did/ like surprises. He focused back to opening up Dean's present, popping the chocolate candies into his mouth contently.

Dean opened up the paper bag lunch his mother had packed for him, unwrapping the hamburger from the bag and taking a huge bite out of it. Hamburgers had got to be his favorite food. As he rummaged through the bag, he had to take that thought back. No, pie was his favorite food. Hamburgers were a close second, but pie would always be number one. He put his hamburger down, instantly going for the pie that was packed for him.

Meanwhile, Castiel took a small bite from his sandwich, watching Dean out of the corner of his eye. It was amusing, how enthusiastic he was about food- pie and hamburgers both in particular. An idea sparked in his mind, the trenchcoated boy tucking it in the back of his mind to put more thought into later. He then noticed that Dean was staring in a rather intense manner at him.

"Dean? Is there something you would like to tell me?" He asked, staring back at him.

Dean snapped back to reality, instantly his eye's gaze going down to the table. If you looked very closely, you would notice that there was a very slight pink shade to his ears. He refused to even acknowledge that he had been absorbed in taking in Castiel's facial features(his lips more than anything), and repeated the phrase 'I'm not gay' over and over in his head as he mumbled a 'No!' to his confused friend.

\-- [LATER THAT DAY AFTER SCHOOL]

Sam opened the door to the Novak's house, getting a 'Hello!' from both Michael and Luci while walking up to Gabriel's room. He opened the door, finding the boy with a sucker in his mouth, texting with a very bored expression. As his head turned to find Sam, however, he broke into a smile.

"Samsquatch! Took you long enough," he said, getting up and walking over to the younger boy who was somehow a head taller than him.

"Yeah yeah, just come get your shoes Gabe, we're going to do this amazing thing called walking," Sam replied, smirking slightly; adjusting the rolled-up sleeves on his plaid shirt.

"Gotcha, hot stuff. Now, to find my shoes..." The brunette frowned, bending down and fiddling through tons and tons of miscellaneous objects before finding his shoes. "Okay, ready!"

The two walked out the door ("What, not gonna hold my hand, Sam-a-lam? I'm disappointed!" "Shut it, Gabe. And stop it with the stupid nicknames!"), and after a good ten minutes of Sam leading the way to Gabriel's 'surprise' while Gabriel talked his ear off about the most pointless things, the two approached a small, local candy shop tucked away in the corner of town.

"I found this place a while back, thought I'd treat you when your birthday came around," Sam said nonchalantly, opening the door for the other boy.

After a good fifteen minutes of Gabriel attempting to decide(and rather, failing miserably) at choosing what he wanted, he decided on a random assorted bag filled with candy. Sam bought the bag, handing it to Gabriel, smiling as he saw his best friend's face light up.

"Happy Birthday, Gabe," Sam told him, before he was suddenly attacked into a hug via the other boy.

"Thanks a lot, Sam! Really, thanks!" Gabe said, grinning from ear to ear, before letting go and digging through the bag, popping a piece of candy in his mouth. The two walked back to their houses, and when Michael asked Gabriel what Sam got him, Gabriel replied, "The best gift ever!"


	3. Chapter 3

  
Today was a day that Dean had been looking forward to all week- hunting day with John. This was great to hear about, but Cas wasn't too happy at first about the whole ordeal. Dean being gone meant his best friend wasn't going to be there to talk to all day and would be coming back late at night; barely any time for words to be exchanged between the two. But it also opened up an opportunity, a chance to try out the idea that he had thought of weeks before that had been tucked quite nicely in the back of his mind. After lunch, he headed over to Mary's house; which was empty from people other than Mary herself. He rapped lightly on the wall in the kitchen, announcing his presence to the blonde woman.

"Hello, Cas!" She said cheerfully, smiling at the boy. "You do know that Dean isn't home right now, right sweetie?"

He nodded stoically at her, before replying, "Yes. I was wondering if you could help me with something, though."

After a few more exchanged words and a surprised yet pleased look from Mary, it was decided. Castiel was to make a pie for the freckled boy. The hours passed by quickly while the dark haired boy attempted to make his first pie. Mary helped him at times, but it was to her surprise that Castiel was actually quite good in the kitchen. Dean would appreciate that, she thought with a knowing smile. She praised blue eyes on his baking as the pie came out of the oven; smells of cherries and golden crust filling the kitchen.

It was now around dinner time, and Dean and John were both expected at home soon. Castiel started washing his hands that were still covered in flour; although he couldn't really get it off of his clothes and hair so much. Mary had prepared a simple meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes with a side of green beans for the hunters; a classic family favorite for the Winchesters.

The door was suddenly opened roughly, a smiling John coming in with guns in his arms, with Dean and Sam trailing behind him chatting aimlessly. The aromas from all the delicious food awaiting the three overtook them; Dean especially breaking out into a grin. He noticed Castiel's presence in the house almost immediately; seeing the bits of the flour that were stuck to him, and raised an eyebrow, chuckling.

"You look like you had fun without me, huh Cas?" Dean asked, picking out some of the bits of dough from his hair.

The blue eyed boy nodded, smiling lightly. "Yeah, it was fun. Although exhausting; now I realize why Michael has Luke do the cooking half the time, even though Michael is the better cook..."

"Come on, boys, time to eat!" Mary called out, and the Winchester family plus one all sat down at the round kitchen table, eagerly digging into the steaming hot dishes of food.

The dinner went on smoothly, Dean bragging about some of the shots that he made; while Sam made comments about Dean getting a big head, resulting in bickering from to the point where John and Mary had to tell them to stop. Castiel was quiet for the most part, only interjecting his two cents when he felt it was needed. Mainly, he just watched, amused, as the family went back and forth in little arguments that truly meant nothing. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't really a sort for arguing for no apparent reason, he might have even joined in. Soon, dinner was done and finished and Dean was about to head up to his room before Mary stopped him.

"Dean, dear, I never struck you as the type to desert the dinner table when pie was about to be served," she said, grinning as her son did a complete 180 degree turn, instantly sitting back down at the table.

"There's pie?! Wow, mom, thanks!" Dean exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.

"No need to thank me, honey, thank your friend here! He practically made the whole thing by himself; didn't you Castiel?" Mary said, looking over at the trenchcoat wearing boy who suddenly was in the spotlight.

Cas nodded, suddenly feeling a bit bashful about the whole thing as Dean's grin was directed towards him. "I had help from Mary, but yes, I did manage to make the majority of it completely by myself. It's cherry, your favorite."

If that didn't immediately make Dean Winchester want to get down on one knee and ask for his hand in marriage, nothing would. Instead of doing this however because that was absolutely no way to treat your best friend who just made you PIE, CHERRY pie at that; he stood up, and tackled the shorter boy into a hug. It was a bit longer than it probably should have been but neither of them were quite willing to let go. After a few moments, however, Dean let go a bit awkwardly, ruffling the dark haired boy's hair.

"Really, you're the best person ever, Cas!" Dean said, before focusing his attention at the pie that was just waiting to be dished out and served.

Mary got to serving it, and soon all five of them were eating the cherry pie that Castiel had made; pleased and content looks from all of them, including Castiel himself.

"Wow, Cas, this is really good," Sam remarked, not usually one for pie; but this was good stuff.

"Just 'good'? Sammy, you've got to be kidding! It's AMAZING, some of the best pie I've ever tasted! Give him credit!" Dean insisted, not even realizing that Castiel's ears were starting to go bright pink from the compliments.

Castiel made a note to self to brace himself before making pie again if this was the reaction he was going to get out of it. Although right now, he was about ready to go to all means to get the freckled boy to stop talking and complimenting him, because he wasn't sure how long he could go red-faced before someone noticed.

"Calm down, Dean, you're embarrassing Castiel here." John said, scolding him, but it was almost lost on Dean because of the fond smile accompanied by it.

"Sooorrrry. But seriously, Sammy has like, no taste in food! He only eats rabbit food most of the time, and when he finally gets the best food ever dished out to him, he calls it 'good'" Dean replied, before catching a glance at the still-red-faced Castiel and grinned toothily.  

###

Soon, it was late, and Castiel had to leave; so he said his goodbyes(Dean had held onto his arm while saying goodbye, and there was something in Castiel that was begging him to not leave, but he ignored it) and headed over next door. As he got home, Gabriel instantly started smirking at him, and finally as Castiel questioned him about his motives, he was bombarded with questions about his 'crush'. From the sounds of it, Sam had somewhat informed Gabriel as to what had happened over at the Winchester's home, too. Red faced and in possible denial, Castiel shut the door to his room in Gabriel's mischievous face; collecting himself before opening up his window to see Dean looking out at him. The two talked and talked about whatever came to mind, and soon the two were both almost too tired to even stand up.

"G'night, Cas. And also, thanks for earlier. You really made me happy, hm?" Dean said sleepily, his freckles standing out in the moonlight, as he rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn.

"Good night, Dean. I'm glad I could make you happy." The brunette smiled drowsily before closing his window; the other boy doing the same, and plopping down into his bed without a second thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 / 2 of chapter 4.

  
Dean was reluctant to go to school the next morning. His brother had come down with the flu, and as the protective big brother he was; he was determined to stay home with him. However, Mary and John both insisted he went to school, and that they were going to take care of him fine, so begrudgingly the boy stalked off to school. Castiel and Gabriel joined him, Cas instantly noticing his sour mood; his trenchcoat that was way too big for him billowing up in the wind.

"Is something wrong, Dean?" Castiel asked after a moment, observing the lack of cheer the boy usually had.

"Sammy's sick, and mom and dad won't let me stay home to take care of him! What if he reaaaallly needs water or food, but they're too busy with something else to give him it?" Dean complained, sticking his hands into his leather jacket sulkily.

"Lambchop's sick?" Gabriel piped up, before grinning. "I'll go get you your hallmark card along with some soup for the kiddo, alright Dean-o? I didn't have anything better to do at school anyways~"

Castiel frowned, about to protest before Dean interrupted him. "You'd do that? My parents would get so pissed off if I skipped school, but I guess you can go in my place, huh? Just don't do anything weird to my brother, alright?" He had an almost threatening tone at the end, although he was more relieved than wary of the boy.

Castiel sighed. So much for telling his little brother no. He supposed this would make Dean feel better, too, so he kept quiet.

"No promises, Dean-o!" Gabe grinned, winking at the Winchester, before running off to go get soup and whatever else he determined Sam would need. School was so boring without Sam there anyways, he wouldn't be able to pay attention without him there! ...Not that he payed attention to anything but Sam really at school even when he was there, but that was beside the point.

Dean cursed at the running figure, before sighing, shaking his head. "If he does anything to Sammy I'll kill him...," he muttered, before checking his watch. "Crap! Dang it Cas, we're going to be late!"

The two ran as fast as they could towards the school doors, barely making it in their homeroom door before the bell rang. Ms. Rosen gave them a questioning look, before smirking as if sharing an inside joke with herself as the two panted heavily; slumping down in their desks.

"Stay up a little too late last night, boys?" She asked them with a rather creepy tone.

"No, but the bags under your old lady eyes makes you look like you did," Dean replied, still trying to catch his breath.

The children in Ms. Rosen's homeroom all started to laugh at the comment, before they were all silenced with the glare of Ms. Rosen. The day hit off pretty well from then, Dean not worrying all that much about Sam and able to sass his teacher out the whole way through(Cas wondered if he should intervene several times, but ended up not saying a thing).

\----

Gabriel stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as he approached the local health food grocery store. He was utterly terrified of entering the place, really. But he knew all the food that Sam would want/need would be in there. Dang it, why did his best friend have to be a huge rabbit food lover? He took a deep breath of courage, and stepped foot into the store. It wasn't that big, in comparison to most large corporate owned stores he'd go into for the cheapest, best supply of candy. No, instead, it felt more like the candy store that Sam had taken Gabriel to for his birthday a month or two ago. Although that wasn't as scary because that had only candy, not a bunch of health food. Gabriel looked around for soup, eventually finding his way to the isle and immediately getting overwhelmed. There was way too many healthy soups to choose from, and how was Gabe supposed to know what Sam liked? In the end, he ended up going and buying a brand of soup he had seen Sam eat before, figuring Sam could just deal with it regardless. 

The next thing that came to mind that Sam would probably want is tea. Sam liked coffee, but definitely not as much as tea. The brunette strolled nonchalantly through the aisles, approaching the one that he assumed had tea in it when something caught his eye. Candy! But not the regular, mass produced kind. It was more expensive, and had things such as 'organic', 'all-natural', 'vegan', 'gluten-free', and 'sugar-free' labeled onto them. Gabriel visibly paled at some of them, looking for something, anything, that looked vaguely similar to what he considered 'regular' candy. A small package labeled 'Sundrops' stuck out to him, and as he scanned over the package,it seemed like they were similar to M & M's. Except the colors were produced from beets. Gabriel frowned, staring at the candy for a good minute or two, before tossing it into the shopping basket he had picked up. If he didn't like them, he'd just go off to Sammy about how gross healthy candy was and that it wasn't even real candy.

Walking on towards the tea aisle, the boy threw in some peppermint and chai tea; before checking out(the cashier gave him a free organic lollipop, smiling at him before telling him to have a good day). The brunette stuck the lollipop in his mouth (not bad, he actually really liked it more than a few lollipop brands he'd tried out before), skipping over to the Winchester's house. Mary and John's cars were both gone from the looks of their driveway- Gabriel knew they had work, and couldn't take any days off because it was busy season for both of them.

He let himself in, calling out a cheerful, "Sammmmyyyy!"

A muffled groan came in response from the boy's room, and Gabriel walked over there, holding the paper bag filled with the things he had bought. He found Sam, his hair messy and his eyes droopy, curled up underneath a blanket.

"Don't you look just utterly irresistible. C'mere, hot stuff, let's check your temperature," Gabriel said, Sam slowly moving into a sitting position; shivering.

Gabriel took the thermometer from the bedside and placed it inside Sam's mouth, feeling his forehead; frowning. He was burning up, at a temperature almost reaching 104.

"Gabe... What are you doing here?" The sick boy asked, rubbing his eyes drowsily. He wore green and blue plaid pajamas, still clutching onto the blankets on his bed.

"To make sure your bro doesn't murder everyone in the school because he's so worried about you, kiddo," Gabriel said with an absolutely straight face, which made Sam wonder if he was actually joking or not. "Also, why can't I see my cute little Sammy-Bo-bammy when he's sick, hm?"

Normally Sam would make some remark about the stupid little nicknames Gabriel came up for him, but not today. He only shifted under the covers, only making a grunting noise to indicate he was even listening to the older boy. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, running his hand through his own hair, before remembering about the soup and tea. He poked Sam's nose, making a little "boop!' noise, before standing back up.

"Now Sammykins, I got you a little something because you're sick," he said, before quickly adding, " It's not candy, I know that's what you were thinking!"

Gabriel hummed, exiting the room; coming back with soup and tea 15 minutes later. He sat down on the bed, setting the tea and soup down on the nightstand, before helping get the sick boy into a sitting position.

"Now, you gotta open your mouth and say ahhh, Sam-a-lam!" Gabriel grinned widely, waggling his eyebrows as he received the typical bitch face from Sam.

"You've got to be kidding me. I can feed myself, Gabriel," Sam said irritatedly, trying to grab the spoon for his soup out of Gabriel's hand and failing.

Gabriel held the spoon out of reach, scolding him like a puppy. "No can do, Sammykins. As tingly as I get when you try to take control, I just can't let this oppurtunity pass! Now open up, or else this soup is going to be all over your shirt, and you wouldn't want that, hm?

After a moment, Sam reluctantly opened his mouth, embarrassed about having to put up with this sort of thing. The hot soup was spooned into his mouth, and as much as he was trying to retain his look of discontent, his lips instinctively turned upwards. He wasn't expecting it to be an actual good soup- he expected something cheap and highly-processed and to be frank, gross, like campbells soup (Dean would later chew him out for being such a hippie). What it actually was was some top-notch health food soup, to his delight. Just having one spoon of the food made him feel better, and then suddenly he wasn't too opposed to Gabriel feeding him. In return, Gabriel only smirked triumphantly at his success. The trip into the health food store was definitely worth it, he decided.

"So, do I get my kiss of appreciation now or what?" Gabriel asked, winking at Sam who immediately flushed a deep red color.

"Not a chance," Sam replied, scowling, before breaking out into a cough.

Gabriel gave him a mock hurt look, before dipping the spoon into the soup and feeding it to the sick boy until it was gone; giving a smug look to Sam at the acceptance of being fed by him. He was so never going to let this go once Sammy got better. Never. As the soup was finished up, Sam yawned; curling up underneath the pile of covers; shivering slightly. Gabriel was about to leave him be and raid his candy stash(although Sam didn't even like candy, so why would he have a stash of candy hidden?) when he heard a shift from the bed and a felt a hand grasp at his own. He was about to make a flirtatious comment but as he turned around to face the sick boy, it was lost. He wasn't sure if it was the facial expression that Sam wore, or if it was the slightly shaking hand holding onto his own, or if it was just him getting weak to Sam in general; but anything that he wanted to say to make this whole scene less of a chick flick was absolutely forgotten.

"Stay," Sam mumbled, barely able to keep his droopy eyes open, much less utter more than a single syllable.

He was going to say no; make some comment like 'Sam-a-lam, I need my candy; sorry kiddo!' but what came out was a simple, "Okay."

Why had he said okay? He wanted to eat his candy more than hang out with a sleeping sick kid, right? His actions betrayed his thoughts, however, as he found himself walking over to the other side of the bed Sam was laying in and plopping down next to him. He heard a content sigh as the boy shifted under the covers, and it was all Gabriel could do not to break out into a fond smile.

"I'm blaming you if I get sick from this, kiddo," Gabriel remarked, although he realized after a moment that Sam had already fallen asleep.

The light-haired brunette stared up at the ceiling, popping a few Sundrops into his mouth. Huh, they weren't bad. Not the same as regular M & M's, but they definitely weren't bad tasting. He yawned, his eyes drifting over to look at the sleeping boy next to him. He resisted the urge to tangle his fingers into Sam's hair, instead adjusting his position into one more comfortable. He eventually fell asleep; his sleeping body rolling closer to the other until their shoulders were brushed up against each other. Gabriel and Sam both would never admit it; but they both slept much better than they ever had before that afternoon.


End file.
